As if indoor skydiving wasn’t cool enough already.
Skydiving could be considered one of the more dangerous activities a human being can possibly participate in just for the fun of it. Still, people all over the world keep doing it because it is an intense, life changing experience that no one ever forgets.
Therefore, how cool would it be to experience all the magic of free falling 120 miles per hour minus the chance of putting your life at steak? One that loves skydiving while at the same time appreciates staying alive, most certainly would.
This is how the idea of Tunnel Vision started. Here is the brand new experience, developed by Virgin Experience Days, that combines a VR headset with indoor skydiving. Cody Russell and Tristan Hampson from the tech incubator EvoNexus, are the founders of the Tunnel Vision. They say the absolute immersive experience that is recreated gives the skydiver an intense level of realism. By using both VR and indoor wind tunnels this accurately simulates the actual physical sensations of free falling.
The headset provides high definition 4k, 360-degree video via a private Tunnel Vision application. Each video displayed on the headset is perfectly synchronized to the physical jump with the 360 visuals starting to unravel as soon as you are inside the wind tunnel.
The team had a few special obstacles to overcome before making the experience available for the public. One of the main concerns was the issue of safely securing the VR headset firmly enough to stay on despite the intense wind speeds within the wind tunnel. Therefore they had to create a patent pending head-mounted display. This utilizes a ratchet system that straps the VR headset to a larger helmet. The user wears the helmet, in the end.
Tunnel Vision recreates the skydiving environment of jumping out of an airplane with breathtaking views while in the safety of a wind tunnel by using virtual reality.
“Virtual reality allows people of all ages and risk adversities the chance to experience what it is like to jump out of an airplane while under a coach’s’ supervision in a wind tunnel, making it a safe environment that can be enjoyed year round. When a customer goes to a local wind tunnel they will now have the option to upgrade to the Tunnel Vision™ experience. The customer will then wear a specially designed full-faced helmet with an integrated virtual reality headset and can chose to virtually skydive anywhere in the world!”
Tunnel Vision can be now found in only two locations. The first at Airborne San Diego in California and the second at Twinwoods Adventure in the UK.
Curious about how good is the experience exactly? Just listen to what the British Army’s Parachute Regiment display team, The Red Devils, had to say after trying it out themselves.
